Overstock made $126,000 in Bitcoin sales on day one

Around one month ago, Overstock.com CEO Patrick Byrne said that the online retailer plans to begin accepting Bitcoins sometime in 2014. The date was estimated to be later than less than one month after the announcement was made, but we suppose nothing can stifle progress when making money is involved. It would seem Overstock was right to begin accepting the currency, as the first day of doing so already brought success.

In just the first 22 hours of ushering in what history textbooks will surely one day refer to as the New Age of Economics, Overstock made $126,000 in sales solely in Bitcoin. Over the first half-hour, Overstock made $5,000 in sales, and doubled that an hour-and-a-half later. At the time of writing, one Bitcoin is worth a little less than $850 — not nearly as much as its highest peak, but certainly a desirable value. As Wired reports, the types of products people purchased from Overstock are varied. One customer purchased a smartphone case, while another grabbed a screen protector. These items are much cheaper than the value of a single Bitcoin, but splitting the cryptocurrency into fractions didn’t dissuade everyone who contributed to that $126,000 haul. One customer purchased a 13-piece set of patio furniture totaling $2,700, or a little over three Bitcoins.

Though Overstock achieved success on day one, you shouldn’t yet get too excited for a future where Bitcoin is as viable as regular government-issued tender. Overstock did not reveal how much of the day’s total intake was accounted for by that $126,000 haul, which amounts to about 148 Bitcoins at the time of writing. However, making a tenth of one million dollars in sales in a day using an experimental payment system is promising in almost every way you look at it. For now, though, if you’re holding onto your Bitcoins, now might be the time to spend some just in case the Overstock experiment shuts down in the long-run.